Staring down the barrel of elimination in the Champions League, holders Bayern Munich will endeavour to overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg of their quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain when they do battle in the French capital on Tuesday.
An enthralling five-goal encounter at the Allianz Arena ended with Mauricio Pochettino’s side claiming a slender lead at half time in the tie, and the two continental giants head into the game following differing fortunes in their domestic title defences.
PSG’s weakened team cruised past Strasbourg 4-1 on Saturday, whereas a much-changed Bayern side could only muster a point from their clash with Union Berlin in a 1-1 draw.
With Bayern hotshot Robert Lewandowski helplessly watching on from the infirmary, his adversary Kylian Mbappe did what he does best at the Allianz Arena, as the Frenchman was once again unfazed by the magnitude of the occasion and the venue in Europe’s elite competition.
Keeping the momentum going from his record-breaking evening at Camp Nou, Mbappe took just three minutes to stamp his authority on Bayern’s turf – although he was aided by a significant deflection off Manuel Neuer – and Marquinhos’s final act of the night was to double his side’s lead during a snowy night in Munich.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Muller ensured that the German giants would take something into the second leg, but Mbappe was simply too hot to handle on the night and slotted home PSG’s third following a sweeping counter-attack, as Les Parisiens gained a measure of revenge after last year’s heartbreaking defeat in the final.
A brace of assists from Neymar complemented Mbappe’s prowess in front of goal, and either Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund will await the French champions should they dump the reigning champions out of the tournament next week, but Pochettino was quick to urge caution given their second-leg performance against Barcelona in the last 16.
